Ken Brett

Ken Brett
Pitcher
Born: (1948-09-18)September 18, 1948
Brooklyn, New York
Died: November 18, 2003(2003-11-18) (aged 55)
Spokane, Washington
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 27, 1967, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1981, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
Win–loss record 83–85
Earned run average 3.93
Strikeouts 807
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Kenneth Alven "Ken" Brett (September 18, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was a Major League Baseball pitcher and the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett. Ken played for 10 teams in his 14-year MLB career.[1]

Born in Brooklyn, Ken Brett grew up in southern California in El Segundo, a suburb of Los Angeles just south of the airport.[2][3]

Baseball career

1967 World Series

At age 17, he was the fourth overall pick in the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft, selected by the Boston Red Sox as a pitcher; the 19 other MLB teams coveted him as a sweet-swinging center fielder. Fifteen months later, Brett was called up to the major leagues from Single-A ball, he participated in the final week of a heated American League pennant race in September 1967. Boston won the league title by defeating the Minnesota Twins on the final day of the season, finishing a single game ahead of both Detroit and Minnesota, and three games ahead of Chicago. Brett was not expected to be on the post-season (World Series) roster to face the St. Louis Cardinals, but was added as an emergency replacement for an injured Sparky Lyle, a transaction requiring the commissioner's approval.[4]

Days later on October 8, Brett became the youngest pitcher ever in the World Series, appearing in relief in Game 4. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning, yielding a walk. In Game 7, he entered the game with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning and induced Tim McCarver to ground out to the first baseman to end the inning. At just 19 years (& three weeks), he gave up no hits in  1 1⁄3 scoreless innings in his two appearances.[5]

"Nothing ever fazed him. We had no hesitation about putting him on the World Series roster, none at all," recalled Dick Williams, Boston's rookie manager that year. "He had the guts of a burglar."[6]

1968–81

Shortly after the 1967 World Series, Brett spent six months in the Army Reserve and missed spring training in 1968 and, in his first Triple-A outing back, was left in the game for nine innings. He developed arm trouble and endured a couple of surgeries, and his career never lived up to early expectations. He would later state that the worst curse in life is unlimited potential.

While with the Phillies in 1973, he gave up Hank Aaron's 700th home run on July 21 in Atlanta.[7][8] "I won the game, so it didn't matter that much to me," Brett said. "Aaron gave me an autographed picture the next day, and I stood there and tore it up in mock anger. I always took the game seriously, but I also had a good time playing it."[9]

Although a much-traveled pitcher who played for ten MLB teams over a 14-year career, Brett did have remarkable career moments. He was the winning pitcher of the 1974 All-Star Game, where he was the only member of the host team Pittsburgh Pirates on the National League squad.[10][11] Earlier that year on May 27, Brett held the San Diego Padres off base with a perfect game into the ninth inning before settling for a two-hit shutout win in the first game of a Memorial Day doubleheader, which he also had a hit and batted in a run. In the second game, he had a pinch-hit triple to spark a five-run seventh to help the Pirates sweep.[12][13]

Two years later on May 26, 1976, while pitching for the visiting White Sox, he had a no-hitter going with two out in the ninth in a scoreless game against the California Angels.[14] Jerry Remy's slow roller down the third base line was allowed to roll unplayed by Jorge Orta and amid some controversy, was scored a hit rather than an error. Brett pitched 10 innings and won the game 1–0, in 11 innings.[15] (box score).[16]

Throughout his career, Brett was best known as an outstanding hitting pitcher, perhaps the best of his era.[13][17] In 347 career at bats, he recorded 91 hits (29 for extra bases), yielding a .262 batting average and slugged an impressive .406. He hit 18 doubles, 1 triple, and 10 home runs with 44 RBI. While with the Phillies in 1973, he hit a home run in four consecutive pitching starts (from June 9 to June 23). In his All-Star year of 1974 with the Pirates, he hit a remarkable .310 (27 for 87), appearing in 43 games (27 as a starting pitcher and 16 as pinch hitter). His .310 batting average was higher than six of the eight starting position players on the Pirates in 1974, a team that won the National League Eastern division title. "I took a lot of pride in my ability to hit," he said. "In high school, I was also an outfielder and a pretty good hitter. I always thought my being able to hit helped me in games, and I pinch-hit a lot for pitchers, although there were a couple times in Pittsburgh when I hit for Kurt Bevacqua. He didn't like that much. I never took extra batting practice or anything like that. On days when I pitched, I'd get my swing in during batting practice." Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda was an admirer of Ken Brett's hitting ability and once remarked that "if we'd drafted him, we'd have put him in center field and he'd have stayed there."

Following the 1975 season, Brett played primarily for teams in the American League, which had instituted the designated hitter in 1973. This significantly limited his at bats in the second half of his career, not only as a starting pitcher, but also as a pinch hitter. In 1978 with the California Angels Brett transitioned to relief pitching.

In 1979, he returned to the National League as a reliever with the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the end of his career, Brett and his youngest brother George were teammates on the Kansas City Royals. Ken was added to the Royals roster in August 1980, the year the Royals finally won the American League pennant and George hit .390 and was the AL MVP.

Brett was released by the Royals following the 1981 season and retired from baseball shortly thereafter. He had a career record of 83–85, with an ERA of 3.93 in 349 games, with 184 starts and 51 complete games.

Brett played for 10 major league teams, but in his nine team changes Ken had been traded a mere six times, and released the last three. "I'll never forget the first time he came on in relief for the Royals," George recalled. "The bullpen was out in right field and they opened up the gate, and he came running in like an airplane -- arms spread out like wings, banking left, banking right, banking left and banking right. I'm on the mound with Jim Frey, our manager, and Jamie Quirk, who I'd played with for years and was Ken's dear friend. And I looked at Jamie and he looked at me, and I said, 'Now I know why he's been traded 10 times.' "

He wore his frequent change of uniforms as both a badge of honor and humor.[14] In a commercial for Miller Lite beer in 1984, he raised a glass in a salute to the town he thought he was in, only to be told he was not in that town. He spun through his mental rolodex and named every major and minor league town he could think of. The punchline—"Utica?"—led to an invitation to the city by the mayor,[18] and then a minor league manager's job in Utica.[19][20][21][22]

Baseball author Bill James wrote that Brett was the best hitting pitcher of the 1970s.[23]

Post-playing career

After a year as a minor league manager in Utica in 1985, Brett worked as a broadcaster for the Seattle Mariners in 1986,[24] then the California Angels for the next eight years. He then coached baseball at the collegiate level, and co-owned minor league baseball and hockey teams and a sporting goods company in Spokane, his home since 1998, with his brothers John, Bobby, & George Brett.

Brett, along with his brother and several MLB all-stars, made their guest appearances on ABC's "Fantasy Island", Season 1, Episode 10. Brett had no lines, but pitched for the camera and waved. As an inside joke between brothers, George Brett was embarrassed twice on the show - once by dropping a routine infield ball, and a second time by being struck out by a non-athlete who was there fulfilling his fantasy. George has since said that Ken pointed out he'd be the perfect "fool" for those moments.

After a six-year battle with brain cancer, which included two operations, Brett died at age 55 on November 18, 2003, in Spokane. [2][25] He was the third member of the 1981 Royals team to succumb to brain cancer, following manager Dick Howser in 1987 and relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry in 1998.

References

  1. ↑ Geranios, Nicholas K. (November 20, 2003). "Ken Brett dies of brain cancer". Bangor Daily News. Maine. Associated Press. p. C6.
  2. 1 2 Blanchette, John (November 20, 2003). "Brett, 55, succumbs". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
  3. ↑ Garrity, John (August 17, 1981). "Love and hate in El Segundo - Jack Brett & his sons". Sports Illustrated.
  4. ↑ Edes, Gordon (October 28, 2004). "Big brother was George Brett's inspiration". Boston Globe.
  5. ↑ "1967 World Series - STL vs. BOS". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  6. ↑ "Ken Brett, 55; Sox phenom was World Series youngest pitcher". Boston Globe. Associated Press. October 20, 2003.
  7. ↑ "Magic number now 14". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. July 22, 1973. p. 1C.
  8. ↑ Saladino, Tom (July 23, 1973). "Aaron: Tell the commissioner he didn't groove it". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. p. 5B.
  9. ↑ Emert, Rich (July 13, 2003). "Where are they now? Brett's All-Star win a big thrill". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 3, 2003.
  10. ↑ "50,706 see NL beat AL, 7-2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 24, 1974. p. 1.
  11. ↑ Rose, Ed, Jr. (July 24, 1974). "Pittsburgh is someplace special - just ask Ken Brett". Beaver County Times. Pennsylvania. p. D-2.
  12. ↑ Feeney, Charley (May 28, 1974). "Brett, Hebner sizzle; Bucs sweep Padres". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16.
  13. 1 2 "Is Ken Brett another Babe?". Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. May 28, 1974. p. 10.
  14. 1 2 Lassila, Alan (May 28, 1976). "Quality player Ken Brett mystified by five trades". Sarasota Journal. Florida. p. 1C.
  15. ↑ "Remy's scratch single breaks up Brett's close call at no-hitter". Lawrence Journal-World. Kansas. Associated Press. May 27, 1976.
  16. ↑ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago White Sox 1, California Angels 0". Retrosheet.org. 1976-05-26. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  17. ↑ Rappoport, Ken (May 17, 1974). "Ken Brett strong moundsman and potent batter". The Evening News. Newburgh, New York. Associated Press. p. 9B.
  18. ↑ "Ken Brett finds himself in Utica". Lakeland Ledger. Florida. wire services. October 9, 1984. p. 2A.
  19. ↑ "Ex-pitcher Ken Brett tabbed Utica skipper". Lawrence Journal-World. Kansas. Associated Press. March 24, 1985. p. 2B.
  20. ↑ Former Blue Sox manager dies The Utica (NY) Observer-Dispatch - 2003-11-20
  21. ↑ Kravitz, Bob (August 11, 1985). "Yes, Utica". Pittsburgh Press. p. D8.
  22. ↑ Vecsey, George (August 13, 1985). "Wanderer Brett finds home in Utica". Lawrence Journal-World. Kansas. New York Times news service. p. 11.
  23. ↑ James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Simon & Schuster. p. 281.
  24. ↑ "Ken Brett now George's brother". Nevada Daily Mail. Missouri. Associated Press. May 25, 1986. p. 11.
  25. ↑ Blanchette, John (November 20, 2003). "Brett left his mark in many ways during too-short life". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.

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